News - Blogs - Welcome to summer East Coast

Welcome to summer, East Coast
Published: 6/20/2012 2:33 PM
Last Modified: 6/20/2012 2:40 PM

Bikram yoga demonstrators take a break for a drink of water in New York's Times Square, Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Temperatures across the Northeast are expected to approach triple digits. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

As I mentioned yesterday, it’s officially summer today. Well, it will be summer at 6:09 p.m. this evening.

Stepping outside, it’s actually quite nice here today. Pretty close to yesterday, too. It’s a great late spring/early summer day (literally).

Others on this continent aren’t having a good first day of summer.

Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings stretch up the East Coast, from heat indices exceeding 100 in the Washington area to (gasp!) 92 degrees in Portland, Maine. OH, THE HUMANITY.

The heat in the Mid-Atlantic sounds pretty awful. Washington is in a swamp, and it gets ridiculously humid there in the summer.

In New York City, the excessive heat warning says the heat index could rise to 108 today. That sounds absolutely terrible. Urban heating, with no place to go and many places lacking air conditioning would be torturous. The last time I was in New York was during one of their late summer heat waves, and there is really no escape. You just stand in front of a fan, occasionally pouring ice water on yourself.

The worst part about this particular heat wave: It’s a surprise heat wave for many. The highs in New York Tuesday were in the 70s. I hate surprises.

Now, I know it’s all relative. But, really, Maine? A little mid-90s action and it’s time for heat warnings?

You. Mainers (is that what they’re called?). Hop in a time machine and visit us in last summer’s Tulsa. First: WOW, YOU HAVE A TIME MACHINE!? Second: Why in the world would you come to 2011 Tulsa summer if you had a time machine and could go anywhere? Well, while you’re here, this is what a real heat wave feels like. I know, it’s awful.

I say that, but in winter, when the tables are turned and we’re complaining about wearing six layers to walk a block to the store when it’s 20 degrees, Maine-ites could say the same thing: Try having some real problems.

But seriously, the heat up there can be very serious. Serious caution should be taken among the very young and very old and anyone susceptible to such extreme weather.

It’s an abrupt start to summer, but things will cool off along the coast by next week.

But not here. It’s summer after all, so let’s jump right in and stay for a while.

Highs should break the 90s today and rain chances tonight and tomorrow (hooray!) should keep temps in the 80s tomorrow and low 90s Friday. Then, the forecast looks awfully familiar to anyone who was here last year: Sunny and 99.

The livin’ may be easy in the summertime, but it sure isn’t cool.

--Jerry Wofford

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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